I have given 2 months notice to my current landlord and must vacate my rented apartment in Tooting by the end of next month. Conveyancing for my house purchase has just started. How realistic is it to complete in three weeks as I wish to avoid having to move into temporary accommodation?
The normal practice is not to provide notice on a rental unless your lawyer suggests that you should. If you have not previously done so, speak to your solicitor and urge them to they chase the other lawyers, try to get a realistic time scale from them that all parties will work to achieve
Our mortgage company has suggested a law firm on their panel based in Tooting but I would rather choose a conveyancing lawyer in Tooting or nearer to where I live. Are you able to help?
It is by no means the case that all Tooting conveyancing firms are on all lender’s conveyancing panel. Use the above find an approved solicitor tool to identify a Tooting conveyancing conveyancer on the on the lender panel.
Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Edwardian property in Tooting. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Barclays Direct. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Tooting and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the position with your conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
How does conveyancing in Tooting differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Tooting come to us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because developers in Tooting usually acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Tooting or who has acted in the same development.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my uncle I am disposing of a house in Neath but live in Tooting. My conveyancer (approximately 260 kilometers awayneeds me to execute a statutory declaration ahead of the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Tooting to attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Tooting based
My wife and I are acquiring a garden flat in Tooting. When we first instructed solicitor, we were told they were on all major UK bank panels. The mortgage broker emailed yesterday to advise that they don't appear to be on the Principality approved list. Should that be true, what should we do? Should we simply find a new conveyancing practitioner that is on their panel or should we pay for dual representation, with Principality appointing their own preferred solicitor.
When acquiring a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchaser’s solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a solicitor has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the solicitor to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the lawyer has to meet. Some mortgage companies now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your lawyer should call Principality to find out if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on Principality's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Tooting solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.